A urologist who sexually abused dozens of patients moved around the New York medical community for years without his employers taking the claims seriously, a new lawsuit says

• Darius Paduch, a former urologist, is accused in a new trial of sexually assaulting men and boys.

• Anthony T. DiPietro, the prosecutor, called Paduch a “serious sexual predator.”

• The lawsuit also accuses Paduch of covering up his behavior at his workplace.

This article contains descriptions of sexual assault.

In a new lawsuit filed in New York, Darius Paduch, a former urologist, is accused of abusing minors and men alike over a period of years by conducting unnecessary examinations under the guise of medical necessity and their genitals touched – and his employers are also accused of being aware of his actions.

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 26 in New York Supreme Court, follows Paduch’s indictment in April by a federal grand jury.

This new filing has 58 plaintiffs, but prosecutor Anthony T. DiPietro told Insider more have already come forward to share their experiences with Paduch.

In addition to Paduch, the lawsuit names several medical centers as defendants, including NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

Over the course of his career, Paduch moved to several different medical centers in the area. Beginning in the early 2000s, he worked at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center. He later moved to Northwell Health in 2019, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges that Paduch engaged in several abusive and nursing-related behaviors throughout his career, including questioning patients about their pornography and masturbation habits, performing genital exams without gloves, and instructing patients to do so in front of him masturbating, masturbation of patients as well as stroking and touching patients.

The lawsuit also accuses Paduch of performing unnecessary surgeries that supposedly treated erectile dysfunction.

Additionally, the lawsuit states that multiple verbal and formal complaints were made to Paduch’s supervisors at his workplaces, which were either ignored or covered up. Paduch was asked to leave his first job, but his patients were not told he was leaving the practice after multiple complaints of sexual abuse were made, the lawsuit says.

DiPietro, who works primarily in the areas of patient safety and medical malpractice, described Paduch as a “serial sex offender” who abused boys and men in multiple doctor’s offices.

He also linked the case to the case against Robert Hadden, a former gynecologist who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after sexually abusing dozens of patients. Hadden also had ties to Columbia University medical centers, DiPietro said, and committed similar acts of fraud, exploitation and solicitation of girls and women.

DiPietro said he would continue to file lawsuits as more people come forward.

Many of his customers want policy changes at the various hospitals involved to protect current and future patients from harm, DiPietro said.

“If our customers didn’t come forward and hold them accountable, these predators would still be there and doing things to people,” DiPietro said. “If there is any thanks in these cases, it goes to each and every one of our customers who was willing to step up and help address this issue.”

A spokesman for Weill Cornell Medicine called the behavior described in the lawsuits “extremely disturbing.”

“No patient who trusts us with their care should ever experience such appalling behavior,” the spokesman said. “We continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and are committed to maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.”

Long Island Jewish Medical Center — part of the larger Northwell Health network — also said it would continue to take the allegations against its former employee Paduch seriously and cooperate with investigators.

Paduch and Columbia University-affiliated medical centers did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

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Read the original article on Insider